Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Silver)

I have a bagful of camera's by now and one of them is the earlier iteration to this camera - the TZ-3. Did not quite like its color rendering and that camera itself has now stopped working (hangs after taking a couple of pics). I wasn't sure if I should buy its newer cousin but some of its features were in line with what I wanted. Turns out - Panasonic has made great strides in the intervening years. For one thing - color is vastly improved compared to earlier models.Now that I've used it for a while -1) Its truly a great shirt pocket size, wide angle, Hi Def camcorder. Dedicated HD camcorders don't come with a wide angle lens and all they let you capture at your kids b'day is the cake and two people on either side. With this camcorder - you can capture the crowd and when you play it back big screen, it looks spectacular with true colors and high resolution. With the huge resolution increase possible with HD video, you also need a wide angle lens to do it justice.2) It can zoom while taking video - all the way to 12X optical and to 16X with not much perceptible loss of resolution. The zoom is silent and does not grate into your sound (I don't note it). Focus is maintained rock steady through zooming. Zooming is slow, but that can be a good thing - most people zoom too much and fast in home video's - making home video's un-watchable.3) Someone mentioned two zooming speeds. Really? I see only one zooming speed. Not like a camcorder where zooming speed can be varied by pressing more or less on the zooming lever. Takes me about 10 seconds to go from 1 to 16X - so its a bit slow.4) Sound is good (stereo mike and dolby digital recording). Way way better than any other camera based sound I have used so far. The mikes are on top and prone to get blocked with my fingers now and then. Wish they were in front.5) There are 3 selectable bit rates - I use the highest one and later join and recompress the videos with the free DIVX converter to MKV. I don't note any stutter or jitter in my video's.6) With approx 12MB left in my card, the camera can take one and half hrs of video at highest bit rates, 2 hrs at medium and 3 hrs at the lowest setting. Thats plenty long. I use a class 4 card and works fine (AVCHD compression).7) Low light performance w/o zoom is also tolerable. If you also zoom in low light, too little light reaches the sensor for decent images. By low light - I mean a dimly lit room. With normal lighting, the video's look fine.8) Image stabilization is very good. I can even walk with the camera and take watchable video's.9) Face detection works when taking video's - perfectly exposed faces in a backlit environment.10) The batteries don't last very long when taking video's (haven't calculated how long). The batteries are electronically locked - so not any aftermarket spare will work. However - this one works fine (I just bought it) and the battery came fully charged -http://www.amazon.com/Power2000-Replacement-1200mAh-Lithium-Panasonic/dp/B002VJ1FDE/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1280437856&sr=1-511) Way way better than a Flip HD camcorder in every way. I am really puzzled why people buy Flips anymore.Other notes -1) Shape and size are perfect. You really want a rectangular box and not some crazy rounded shape like some of the Canon's (like SD 940 - which I own). Box is the only shape that will stand stable on its edge when you are trying to take a self timer shot. Fits fine in a shirtpocket with a cloth case on it.2) Low light with zoom can make for really noisy pics (visible when you see them at 100%). (I mostly use my SLR for "in-home" pics)3) Lens is really sharp. I can note the diff with SD940 (Canon).4) Color is good.5) GPS is essential and works well. Only way to remember where pics were taken 10 years from now. I leave it on at all times.6) Made in Japan (not China)7)Does not have a standard USB port - so you need to keep the special cable handy. Its not as big a con anymore since I rarely connect a camera to a computer.8) Panasonic does give you firmware updates to improve the performance of the camera after you've bought it. I just updated mine from 1.0 to 1.1.9) The viewing screen is very good , antireflective coated and visible in bright sunlight.10) Flash pics are much better exposed than my Canon SD94011) I hope it lasts - unlike my TZ-3.12) Ergonomics, button arrangement and screen information is excellent. Nice metal throught I used to not like the one press video function, but with a kid in the house, I think its the way to go. There's lots more one can write on this camera but I need to keep this review short. I'll be happy to answer specific questions anyone might have.

I had a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4S 8.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) whose lens cover stopped working. Prior to that the pictures it took, in all conditions, were really good.I replaced it with the ZS7 hoping to have the same, if not better, picture quality. That has not been the case. Has the same great Leica lens as the older model but images are a little more distorted or pixelated on the ZS7. The video quality is far superior to that of the TZ4 and the LCD is much nicer on the ZS7.One area that concerns me is that the camera cannot focus / does not focus at the mid way point of the zoom. around 6x - 8x zoom it simply will not focus. Doesn't matter where I am, how the camera is set, or what the lighting conditions are. The mid way point on the zoom is useless. I have missed many photo opps because of this.The older TZ4 was less complicated but, like I said, it took good pictures 90% of the time on the auto or iA setting. The ZS7 requires a lot more know how and fussing about to get the same picture quality as the older one. Screwing around with the camera can lead to missing a shot. People complain about how long it takes to turn on a camera and be ready for a shot sometimes. Makes me laugh. If you have to turn it on and wait plus get all the settings right you are not really taking advantage of a point & shoot camera. Might as well go for the DSLR at that rate.Sure, I admit that this would have been capable of taking better pictures than the older model thanks to its adjustability but the new image processor gets in the way. The ZS7 still isn't going to give you DSLR quality pics no matter how much you adjust it. Without the option of storing images in the RAW formaat it isn't really worth all the adjustability. Not even close. I think this is meant to fill the gap between point & shoot & DSLR (leaning heavily toward point & shoot in my opinion). Gone is the VIVID color setting from the older model which is sorely missed on the new model. I have found the color reproduction to be much better with Canon & Fuji cameras. Fuji has really fallen off, more & more each year with their image quality - overcomplicating simple designs that, in the past, worked brilianty. The video button on the ZS7 is too easy to hit by accident (took a 2 hour video by accident without even knowing it).After being very disappointed with this camera and its completely useless GPS function and Panasonic's proprietary batteries (genius for them to make money but horrible for the consumer) which run down very quickly in this camera (yes, I turned the GPS off) I cannot recommend this camera to anyone.I did try out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) and found it to be fantastic. Simple, easy to use, great pictures, & at a fraction of the cost ZS7. Video quality is pretty decent too. I gave up some zoom but if you drop the MegaPixels down the zoom increases. 12MP is pushing it for the sensor size on both Lumix cameras. All the manufacturers out there need to stop the MP nonsense and get back to what matters - picture quality.*Update* I did a little more research & it seems that even the professional reviewers agree - older is better when it comes to the ZS7. ([...].). Don't get me wrong here people -I like Panasonic cameras! They had a great design and they changed it - not for the better in my opinion.I also purchased a Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD jst before the holiday. The picture quality is a vast improvement nut it has it's downsides as well.Is there a perfect compact camera out there? Maybe, but I haven't come across it yet. I also purchased a Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver). Like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver) these are two VERY GOOD point and shoot cameras. I think the Canon gives you slightly more manual control but, really, were splitting hairs here. Both cameras give you very good picture quality out of the box while the Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD does alright on auto it is capable of some phenominal pictures if you take the time to adjust it properly based on your given situations. While both the ZS7 and SX130IS are considered "compact" I really don't feel either belong in this catagory, especially the Canon SX130IS. Too big, too bulky, too much adjustabilty for the absolute best picture quality (the SX130IS is much less expensive than the ZS7 too). If Panasonic reads these reviews, I implore you to take a step back in order to move forward. What you had in the TZ4 & ZS3 wasn't broken but you fixed it and the image quality suffered. Go back and I'll be happy to give you guys another chance.

I bought this Camera in Dec. 2010 from Amazon. The picture quality in normal indoor light conditions is very poor. After six month of limited use, the camera died {System Error (Focus)] after a trip to the sea side. I have read about this problem before I bought the camera and did not put much credence in it as a Japanese manufacture would not be that sloppy. Sure enough, it is a poor quality design.Now I am having trouble finding if the warranty still covers this mishap.Update in 2/2013: It was fixed under warranty. After I went to a trip with the ill-fated Camera, the problem returned again (seems to be extremely sensitive to dust and humidity). I got it fixed in Cairo Egypt for $30. But sure enough, I lost the camera shortly after.I am relieved to have lost the camera! Never again a Panasonic!